Fashion, coffee, and rambling

Sorry for the boring weekend, folks.

I haven't done much besides relax, watch movies/tv, read, and work on the blanket I'm making.  I'm officially 80 years old, I guess.

That's not totally true because I did go for a really nice long walk both today and yesterday to El Centro.  Yesterday's trip was for grocery shopping, but today's was for fun (and some ice cream, if we're being totally honest).  I strolled down the hill and stopped in my favorite gelato shop (where they speak English and are usually less busy than the more popular one down the Boulevard).   I was so glad I waited 'til later in the day because I got a beautiful sunset going down the hill and coming back up, which made the walk very worthwhile.

While I walked, I was thinking about fashion here.  I was expecting the fashion to be pretty great, but honestly, I've been pretty disappointed. So far as I can tell, the kids have the best fashion.  Kids here are adorable and dress adorably.  Little girls (under 12 years old) are always in dresses and siblings usually match.  The kids clothing stores are also super adorable.

Older men and women fall into two camps.  The first is very, very stylish and chic.  The other is (usually for women only) really, desperately not age appropriate AT ALL.  Imagine rhinestone studded jeans, mini-skirts, strappy halter tops all on women who are clearly over 70 years old.  Yes, usually they are in great shape.  But no, thank you, I do not need to see you in a white 1 piece romper with rhinestones and a low cut in the front.

People my age are a total mixed bag.  I've known the 80s have been coming back for a while, but the level of neon here is disconcerting.  The biggest "trend" I can point to is sliver sneakers.  Which I do not understand.  I also am not sure where these people are shopping, since the stores I walk by tend to be pretty chic and understated.  I have yet to go into a shop to try on clothes because sizing is so looney here.  I think I'll order some stuff online to figure out what size I really am before going in to try stuff on. Plus, in El Centro, the boutiques are really expensive.  Typically the prices are similar to fancy boutiques in Chicago, except instead of dollars, it's euros.  I do realize I'm getting paid in euros, but I can't stop converting prices in my head and thinking "there is no way I will pay that much for something!"  I'm still waiting to see people who are incredibly chic and have fashion I'd like to copy - I may have to head to Barcelona or Madrid for that, I guess.

Now, for what will probably be a semi-regular feature is Something I Miss About America (not people I miss - but specific things about American culture).  To kick this off - two things:

- Ethnic Food
- Coffee

The first is ethnic food ... it doesn't really exist here, so far as I can tell.  I have spied a pizza shop while walking up the hill, but it never seems to be open.  Other than that, your choices for food when going out are Spanish and Basque.  This is a huge change from my old neighborhood where we could get basically any kind of food we wanted at any time of day.  A very, very weird transition to make, and something I'm sure I'll talk about later.

As many of you know, I quit caffeine over two years ago, now.  That does not mean that I quit coffee.  There is something really comforting about strolling around with a cup of coffee or tea while you're enjoying whatever city you're in.  Except this culture does not exist in the part of Spain I'm in.  So far, I have yet to find a single place where I can get coffee "para llevar"  (take out).  People enjoy their coffee at cafes (which become bars at night), sitting on the terrace, usually while having a pintxo or two.  People do not stroll with coffee.  There are over 180,000 people in San Sebastián and there is not a single Starbucks, or other Starbucks-esque establishment.  As far as I can tell, there are actually no Starbucks in Bilbao either (the population of greater Bilbao is right around 1 million people).  I am not sad to discover there is a part of the world that Starbucks has yet to conquer, but I do miss strolling with a cup of coffee in hand.  The Spanish "solo" (teeny, tiny cup of super strong coffee - which they will often make decaf for you) just doesn't do it for me.

Finally, even though the Spanish don't really celebrate it, I'd like to wish a very, very happy Mother's Day to my mom, my grandmas, and all the other moms reading here.